Atlantic Institute believes that the students today are our future for tomorrow, and we love to see so many young minds eager to spend their time and energy to increase awareness for our global and local - orglocal - challenges. We are greatly motivated by witnessing the creative works of those students.
Atlantic Institute Art & Essay Contest is affiliated with many educational institutions including the UN Alliance of Civilizations, State Departments of Education, and local universities. With their help, we are able to create an opportunity to accelerate the progress towards cross-cultural reconciliation and cooperation by engaging our youth at an early age.
The contest challenges middle and high school students to submit either/or both art and essay compositions based on a yearly humanitarian theme. The contest was first organized by the Istanbul Center in Atlanta, Georgia in 2006. In addition to Georgia, this contest has spread to the southeast region of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. All essay entries are submitted online while artwork is either mailed directly to the branch offices or to specificed drop-off locations.
Compassion in Action... Caring Matters!
No other generation has experienced the fast-paced growth we experienced today. We move around so quickly from one part of our day to the next, that we often neglect to add compassion to our lives to serve our global and local community. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, has put forth the idea that “Compassion is a Verb,” compelling us to explore how we can each cultivate compassion into our daily lives and the lives of others. Just a bit of kindness to one another every day goes a long way! What can you do to put a little bit of compassion back into this world? How will it change you and change the world we live in if we practiced a little daily compassion?
Past themes:
2006 - 2007 Making Sense of Others
2007 - 2008 Respect for Human Dignity
2008 - 2009 Alliance for Civilizations
2009 - 2010 Who is My Neighbor?
2010 - 2011 Empathy: Walking in Another's Shoes
2011 - 2012 1 Billion Hungry in the World: What's your Role?
2012 - 2013 The Human Footprint on the Environment: Impacts & Solutions
2013 - 2014 Connecting Cultures in the Digital Age: How does Social Media Change the Future of Our World?
2014 - 2015 Kindness Without Borders: Open Eyes, Open Hearts in Our Global Village
2015 - 2016 Ten Days, Teen Weeks, Ten Months, Ten Hours: What Can YOU Accomplish?
